Weedless frog
- Thread starter Don
- Start date
HenryDavid
Well-known member
Top water poppers and frogs must be the most difficult self ties to create. My friend Joe Ackourey's father was a master tier of deer hair bass frogs / poppers. They ran a sporting goods store and Joe had told me that it's a lost art, simply not worth the time put in to create them and sell them at a reasonable price.
I'm a huge fan of top water poppers for panfish and bass. I've used many brands and types, Boogle Bugs being my current favorite. I can't even tie a fly much less figure out how to insert rubber legs into a body that floats and will hold up after fish attack it several times. Most of what I have now are balsa, cork or some form of synthetic plastic body.
I have a couple that have the little wire or heavy mono hook guard, they work but they're not really weedless. If you're going to be throwing a fly style frog into muck nothing is really weedless, is it? I think the closest thing to a truly weedless frog would be the spin fishing frogs like a scum frog or S-Pro frog but I've had a terrible hook up ratio with those, I've been told to wait before setting the hook after a strike but it's still at best a 50/50 hook up ratio for me.
Your frog is original in that I don't recall ever seeing a side hook. I agree that the hook gap is kind of small in relation to the body but it might be more weedless, if the body is soft it can collapse on a strike exposing more of the hook similar to the soft body spinning frogs.
Has anyone ever considered creating a frog fly with the hooks on top?
I'm a huge fan of top water poppers for panfish and bass. I've used many brands and types, Boogle Bugs being my current favorite. I can't even tie a fly much less figure out how to insert rubber legs into a body that floats and will hold up after fish attack it several times. Most of what I have now are balsa, cork or some form of synthetic plastic body.
I have a couple that have the little wire or heavy mono hook guard, they work but they're not really weedless. If you're going to be throwing a fly style frog into muck nothing is really weedless, is it? I think the closest thing to a truly weedless frog would be the spin fishing frogs like a scum frog or S-Pro frog but I've had a terrible hook up ratio with those, I've been told to wait before setting the hook after a strike but it's still at best a 50/50 hook up ratio for me.
Your frog is original in that I don't recall ever seeing a side hook. I agree that the hook gap is kind of small in relation to the body but it might be more weedless, if the body is soft it can collapse on a strike exposing more of the hook similar to the soft body spinning frogs.
Has anyone ever considered creating a frog fly with the hooks on top?
Don
Well-known member
Do?you?mean like?this?on?size?2/0??I?made?the?the?mistake?of?gluing?the?bend?of?the?hook?to?the?foam.?you're?supposed?to?let?it?free?so?it?rides?up?to?the?point. Shame?that?I'll?have?to?wait?for?warmer?water?to?try?it. In tub trials it always lands hook up and it rattles. [ATTACH=full said:
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HenryDavid
Well-known member
I would fish that. I can't get used to the body profile, are you using foam for the body?
Solitario Lupo
Moderator
Solitario Lupo
Moderator
It will for panfish and bass. Like others said it will never be 100% weedless and you will really have to pull your line to hook up.
Solitario Lupo
Moderator
I think I have that on a size 6 or 4. Not really sure since I tied that one years ago. This one you can play with even make it smaller for the panfish. Use some long shank hooks. I get some good pulls but it’s a little big for them. Not for bass.
HenryDavid
Well-known member
Solitario Lupo
Moderator
Lol. Had me going on that one HD. Had to look at it a couple times.
Solitario Lupo
Moderator
If I tied those now I probably would add a guard or something.
Don
Well-known member
http://www.laflyfish.com/.../03/introducing-jiggybee.html...
This looks like summer fun on a warm lake.
This looks like summer fun on a warm lake.